Portable resuscitator

ABSTRACT

A portable resuscitator comprising: an open top casing; a lid hingedly mounted on the casing; a container of oxygen under pressure removably positioned in the casing; a bellows-type pump in the casing having an air inlet; a conduit connecting said container and pump and including an adjustable regulator valve; a motor operatively connected to the pump; a battery powering the motor; a flexible hose having one end connected to the pump and a deformable face mask at the other end; a one-way valve at the joindure of said hose and mask; an exhalation valve carried by the mask; and an electric circuit including said battery, motor, a lid operated switch and a second switch operated by the deformable edge of the mask.

United States Patent Abbott Laboratories 21 Appl. No. [22] Filed [45] Patented [73] Assignee [54] PORTABLE RESUSCITATOR 2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 128/145.6, 128/ 145.8 [51] Int. Cl A62b 7/02 [50] Field of Search 128/142.3,

2,924,215 2/1960 Goodner 128/145.6

2,946,330 7/1960 Blair 1. 128/1 45.6

3,167,070 1/1965 Silverman 128/145.6 FOREIGN PATENTS 891,497 9/1953 Germany 128/191 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant ExaminerKyle L. Howell Attorney-Robert L. Niblack ABSTRACT: A portable resuscitator comprising: an open top casing; a lid hingedly mounted on the .casing; a container of oxygen under pressure removably positioned in the casing; a bellows-type pump in the casing having an air inlet; a conduit connecting said container and pump and including an adjustable regulator valve; a motor operatively connected to the pump; a battery powering the motor; a flexible hose having one end connected to the pump and a deformable face mask at the other end; a one-way valve at the joindure of said hose and mask; an exhalation valve carried by the mask; and an electric circuit including said battery, motor, a lid operated switch and a second switch operated by the deformable edge of the mask.

PATENTEDnm 19 1911 INVENTOR.

FIG.2

PORTABLE RESUSCITATOR The invention relates to a portable resuscitator apparatus designed for emergency use to supply atmospheric air enriched with added oxygen under limited positive pressure.

Emergency resuscitator devices designed for specific uses are well known. Thus, for example, many such devices, designed to be carried as a manpack strapped on the person are available for use by aviators and high-altitude parachutists, to give one example, and also, similar devices designed to be carried on a belt by a fireman, for example, to supply a few minutes emergency oxygen supply.

However, such prior devices are generally unsuitable for domestic use, requiring more or less training and maintenance to maintain them fully operational. A further and more serious disadvantage is that such devices are normally operated by a man who has been trained in their use and is fully conscious and capable of going through at least a certain number of motions to bring such devices into operation. In addition, such devices are generally speaking designed to overcome a shortage of atmospheric air either due to the very high altitude, or due to smoke or other gases rendering the surrounding air unfit to breathe.

The need for an emergency resuscitator apparatus designed specifically for emergency domestic use either by an untrained person or by an invalid has become increasingly apparent. Many victims of heart ailments can be revived if some form of emergency oxygen breathing apparatus is immediately available and can be applied to the victim until professional help arrives. The length of time which normally lapses before such help may be expected to arrive will normally be in the region of to 20 minutes, and accordingly, if pure oxygen under pressure is supplied to a victim a substantial compressed oxygen supply will be required. Thus, one known form of oxygen breathing equipment in established use by fire departments provides a bottle containing 20 litres of compressed oxygen which is rated to last for 20 minutes. A bottle of this size weighs several pounds and is undesirably bulky for incorporation in a domestic unit, and, makes the design of a portable unit such as might be carried in a briefcase, virtually impossible. Accordingly, considerable attention must be paid to economy in use of oxygen both by means of regulating delivery, and also by means of mixing the oxygen with atmospheric air. In addition to these factors, such domestic apparatus must as far as possible operate automatically without adjustment of controls.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a resuscitator apparatus of a compact and lightweight portable design adapted to provide a supply of air enriched with oxygen under pressure without the need of special controls.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus having the foregoing advantages which is capable of delivering a mixture of atmospheric air and oxygen under pressure and wherein the pressure is provided by electrical power.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide apparatus having the foregoing advantages which is adapted to deliver such air and oxygen under pressure only when the apparatus is in contact with the victims face.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide apparatus having the foregoing advantages which is adjustable to regulate the rate of breathing.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings in which like reference devices refer to like parts thereof throughout the various views and diagrams, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevation of a resuscitator apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of FIG. I greatly enlarged to show the construction thereof;

FIG. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is an electrical circuit diagram of the apparatus.

Turning now to FIG. I it will be seen that this preferred embodiment of the invention preferably comprises a boxlike container 10 having a lid 11 hinged thereto by hinges l2 and provided on one end with a handle 13 for carrying and having a spring-operated lock mechanism l4 releaseable by finger pressure on button 15. Lid 11 may optionally be spring loaded by any suitable spring means (not shown) to bias the same to open quickly and remain in the open position during use.

Within container 10 there is fastened the pressurized oxygen bottle 16 which may contain a suitable amount of compressed oxygen, approximately 2 litres having been found to be sufficient for the purposes of this invention, connected by means of pipe 17 to a suitable pressure regulator valve 18 which is adapted to reduce the pressure from the pressure of the compressed oxygen which may be in the region of 2,000 to 2,500 p.s.i. down to between 5 and l p.s.i. Valve 18 is also preferably designed to operate as a cutoff valve which is operated by means of spring'loaded plunger 19 which is normally held downwardly by lid II and which springs upwardly upon raising of lid ll to permit flow of oxygen from valve 18.

In order to mix the oxygen from bottle 16 with air and supply the same under pressure, container 10 is provided with a bellows device generally indicated as 20. Bellows device 20 comprises disc-shaped top member 21 attached by brackets 22 to container 10 and bottom member 23 and intermediate tubular wall portion 24 which is surrounded by the expandable ring member 25 and is provided in the interior thereof with an expansion spring 26 biassing the two top members 21 and 23 normally apart from one another. Top member 21 is provided with an inlet grill member 27 open to the atmosphere and im mediately beneath grill 27 is provided the valve disc 28 seating on the generally frustoconical valve seat 29 and retained normally in sealing engagement thereon by spring steel finger portions 30. Oxygen is admitted and mixed with atmospheric air by means of tube 31 fastened to grill member 27 and having sliding valve member 32 therein normally seated on valve seat 33 and having a flat head portion 33a in contact with the upper surface of disc 28 which normally maintains valve 32 in sealing engagement with seat 33.

Lower disc member 23 of the bellows assembly 20 is moved upwardly by means of electric motor 34 powered by means of battery 35 and driving the eccentric slotted crank 36 which is in turn connected to connecting rod 37 the other end of which is pivotably mounted on bearing member 38. Pressure bar 39 extends underneath lower disc member 23 and makes contact therewith for raising the same. A return spring 40 is connected between connecting rod 37 and the bottom of the container 10 to bring pressure bar 39 downwardly to its lowermost position upon motor 34 ceasing to operate in order to make the same ready for further operation immediately.

A mixture of air and oxygen is delivered from bellows as sembly 20 by means of the flexible air hose 41 connected to opening 42 formed in upper disc member 22 the other end of which is connected to face mask 43. Face mask 43 is preferably provided with valve 44 permitting passage of air and oxygen therethrough during breathing in and operating to close hose 41 upon breathing out and simultaneously opening vent 45 to the atmosphere. Activation of motor 34 is controlled by the lid-operated switch 46 having spring-loaded button 47 extending upwardly therefrom for contact with the interior of lid 11 and also by pressure-sensitive contact means 48 extending around face mask 43 whereby motor 34 is connected to a battery 35 only upon the lid 11 being lifted and upon the face mask 43 being actually applied to the face.

As a further optional feature the speed of rotation of motor 34 may be varied by means of a suitable control such as a tap switch 49 where the battery 35 is capable of delivery various different voltages, or alternatively tap switch 49 may be replaced by a variable resistance (not shown) either of which may be controlled by a control knob 50.

Prior to actual operation and use the resuscitator devices normally carried with lid ll closed and locked so that switch 46 and pressure regulator valve 18 are both in the off position.

From lid 11 being raised valve 18 is released and springloaded plunger 19 springs upwardly thereby applying an oxygen pressure of approximately I p.s.i. to valve member 32 which at this moment is still held in its upward position in engagement with valve seat 33 by contact of valve head portion 33a with the upper surface of disc 28. Simultaneously, springloaded button 47 is also released and moved upwardly thereby operating switch 46 and thereby in turn partially completing the circuit to electric motor 34. After raising of lid ll a user will then normally grasp face mask 43 and press it firmly over the nose and mouth. in this way, pressure-sensitive contact means 48 around face mask 43 are closed and the circuit between battery 35 and motor 34 is thereby completed thus activating motor 34. As electric motor 34 rotates eccentric crank member 36 connecting rod 37 will swing upwardly about bearing member 38 and carry with it pressure bar 39 extending underneath lower disc member 23. Disc member 23 will thereupon be moved upwardly towards upper disc member 21 thereby compressing the air contained therebetween by wall portion 24 and expelling the same into flexible air hose 4] and into face mask 43 through valve 44 for breathing by the user. The swept volume of the bellows device is preferably equal to the volume of air normally comprised in one complete inhalation whereby when lower disc member 23 has reached the highest point of its stroke the user has completed breathing in and is then ready to breathe out. As he breathes out valve 44 will close thereby opening vent 45 and permitting the exhaled air to escape to the atmosphere. As motor 34 continues to drive crank member 36 along its clockwise path it will move pressure bar 39 downwardly thereby permitting lower disc member 23 to return to its lower position under the influence of spring 26. Such downward movement produces a'negative pressure within bellows device 20 which is sufficient to overcome the relatively slight pressure exerted on valve disc 28 by means of spring steel finger portions 30 and to move valve disc 28 downwardly out of contact with valve seat 29. Such downward movement of valve disc 28 will induct atmospheric air through grill 27. Such downward movement of valve disc 28 will also permit valve member 32 within tube 31 to move downwardly and permit flow of oxygen from tube 31 into the area beneath grill 27 and such oxygen flowing therefrom will become admixed with the atmospheric air flowing through grill 27 enriching the same with oxygen and flowing into bellows device 20. As soon as lower disc member 23 has reached the lowermost portion of its stroke the negative pressure within bellows device 20 disappears and spring steel finger portion 30 will once again return valve disc 28 to sealing engagement with valve seat 29 and at the same time move valve member 32 back into engagement with valve seat 33. Upon the next upward movement of pressure bar 39 the atmospheric air communicated to the user as before will be enriched with oxygen, and by suitable balancing of oxygen pressure by means of adjustment of pressure regulator valve 18 such enrichment can be brought up to somewhere in the region of a 50 percent enrichment of the atmospheric air by oxygen.

If at any time during use of the device the user should remove the face mask from his face either to permit easier exhalation of breath or for any other reason such as coughing or the like motor 34 will be immediately switched off at whatever point of the cycle it is in at that time. When this occurs, it is necessary that the moving parts should return to their position at the beginning of the stroke in order that as soon as the mask is placed back on the face the next cycle comprises a complete breath or inhalation of air. For this reason, return spring 40 is provided for urging connecting rod 37 downwardly into its lowermost position. In this way, consumption of oxygen is restricted to the essential purpose of enriching the air inhaled by the user and little or no oxygen is wasted by becoming vented to the atmosphere either when the user removes the face-mask or when he breathes out or for any other reason, as was usually the case in prior art devices. In addition, the mixinghof air and oxygen together ensures the delivery of air enric ed oxygen over a period of time substantially greater than that over which pure oxygen could be delivered by means of a similar capacity bottle, and the user is in turn supplied with such oxygen enriched air at a pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure thereby providing a resuscitation effect of considerable benefit to persons who are suffering from a temporary emergency disability.

It will be appreciated that while the bellows device 21 provides a reliable and economical air pumping means, other methods are available and may be suitable in some cases. Such methods will include a venturi pumping device operating solely on the power stored in the compressed oxygen supply, which in such a case may preferably be either at a higher pressure or in greater volume to provide adequate endurance, such alternative pumping means being associated with valve and control means for cycling the intake of air and oxygen in sequence with inhalation and exhalation of the user.

The foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is here made by way of example only. It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific features described but the invention comprehends all such variations that come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A completely self-contained portable resuscitator intended to be carried about by a person likely to require its use, said resuscitator comprising: a casing having an open top defined by the upper edges of wall structure; a lid hingedly mounted on said casing; a container of oxygen under pressure within said casing; a bellows pump in said casing; a conduit connecting said pump to said container; a pressure regulating, on/off valve included in said conduit; valve-operating means controllable by said lid; a motor in said casing operatively connected to said pump; a battery in said casing powering said motor; air inlet means included in said pump; a flexible air hose having one end connected to said pump; a defonnable face mask connected to the other end of said hose; a one way valve at the end of said hose where said mask is joined thereto permitting only outward flow of air and oxygen to said mask; a one way exhalation valve carried by said mask accommodating exhalation by a user; and an electric circuit for said motor and battery including a switch mounted in the upper edge of said wall structure and engaged by said lid to open said circuit, said switch closing the circuit when said lid is opened.

2. The resuscitator of claim I in which the motor is a variable speed motor and a tap switch regulating the speed of the motor. 

1. A completely self-contained portable resuscitator intended to be carried about by a person likely to require its use, said resuscitator comprising: a casing having an open top defined by the upper edges of wall structure; a lid hingedly mounted on said casing; a container of oxygen under pressure within said casing; a bellows pump in said casing; a conduit connecting said pump to said container; a pressure regulating, on/off valve included in said conduit; valve-operating means controllable by said lid; a motor in said casing operaTively connected to said pump; a battery in said casing powering said motor; air inlet means included in said pump; a flexible air hose having one end connected to said pump; a deformable face mask connected to the other end of said hose; a one way valve at the end of said hose where said mask is joined thereto permitting only outward flow of air and oxygen to said mask; a one way exhalation valve carried by said mask accommodating exhalation by a user; and an electric circuit for said motor and battery including a switch mounted in the upper edge of said wall structure and engaged by said lid to open said circuit, said switch closing the circuit when said lid is opened.
 2. The resuscitator of claim 1 in which the motor is a variable speed motor and a tap switch regulating the speed of the motor. 